The Odd Women (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Victorian Realist Novel of New Woman Independence, Marriage Market Critique, and London Working WomenBy George Gissing
Length17h 6m
About this audiobook
George Gissing's The Odd Women (1893) is a searching late-Victorian novel of gender imbalance, economic precarity, and the contested meaning of female independence. Set against a society in which surplus unmarried women are treated as social anomalies, the narrative contrasts conventional marriage plots with the ambitions of Mary Barfoot and Rhoda Nunn, who train women for self-supporting work. Gissing's realist style is unsentimental, psychologically acute, and socially diagnostic, placing the novel within the New Woman debates while resisting easy ideological consolation. Gissing, born in 1857, knew hardship, intellectual frustration, and the instability of lower-middle-class life from painful personal experience. His own troubled marriages, chronic financial anxieties, and close observation of London's clerks, lodgers, and aspiring professionals informed his fiction's concern with class constraint and emotional compromise. In The Odd Women, these concerns converge with contemporary discussions of education, employment, sexuality, and the limitations imposed upon women by respectable society. This novel is highly recommended to readers interested in Victorian realism, feminist literary history, and the social novel at its most probing. It offers neither simple manifesto nor comforting romance, but a nuanced examination of freedom, loneliness, and moral courage in a changing modern world.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreLiterary Classics, General Fiction
Length17 hrs 6 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJun 19, 2019
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5Chapter 1 The Fold and the Shepherd
Show all chaptersShow less
6Chapter 2 Adrift
7Chapter 3 An Independent Woman
8Chapter 4 Monica’s Majority
9Chapter 5 The Casual Acquaintance
10Chapter 6 A Camp of the Reserve
11Chapter 7 A Social Advance
12Chapter 8 Cousin Everard
13Chapter 9 The Simple Faith
14Chapter 10 First Principles
15Chapter 11 At Nature’s Bidding
16Chapter 12 Weddings
17Chapter 13 Discord of Leaders
18Chapter 14 Motives Meeting
19Chapter 15 The Joys of Home
20Chapter 16 Health from the Sea
21Chapter 17 The Triumph
22Chapter 18 A Reinforcement
23Chapter 19 The Clank of the Chains
24Chapter 20 The First Lie
25Chapter 21 Towards the Decisive
26Chapter 22 Honour in Difficulties
27Chapter 23 In Ambush
28Chapter 24 Tracked
29Chapter 25 The Fate of the Ideal
30Chapter 26 The Unideal Tested
31Chapter 27 The Reascent
32Chapter 28 The Burden of Futile Souls
33Chapter 29 Confession and Counsel
34Chapter 30 Retreat with Honour
35Chapter 31 A New Beginning
36Analysis
37Reflection
38Memorable Quotes
More from George Gissing
Denzil QuarrierGeorge Gissing9h 32m$2 · $0.00
The Odd WomenGeorge Gissing13h 54m$1 · $0.00
The Private Papers of Henry RyecroftGeorge Gissing7h 18m$2 · $0.00
The UnclassedGeorge Gissing13h 52m$2 · $0.00
The Town TravellerGeorge Gissing5h 44m$2 · $0.00
DemosGeorge Gissing20h 52m$1 · $0.00
The House of Cobwebs and Other StoriesGeorge Gissing10h 11m$2 · $0.00
In the Year of JubileeGeorge Gissing15h 6m$2 · $0.00
Born in ExileGeorge Gissing18h 56m$1 · $0.00
The Private Papers of Henry RyecroftGeorge Gissing7h 15m$2 · $0.00
New Grub StreetGeorge Gissing21h 20m$2 · $0.00
New Grub StreetGeorge Gissing22h 5m$1 · $0.00
The Omnibus of Social Class and Exploitation – 3 Classic Labor Fiction NovelsGeorge Gissing, Robert Tressell, Frank Norris58h 1m$2
Isabel Clarendon (Vol. 1&2) (Annotated)George Gissing14h 56m$0.99 · $0.00
In the Year of Jubilee (Annotated)George Gissing15h 58m$0.99 · $0.00
Isabel Clarendon (Historical Novel)George Gissing14h 3m$2 · $0.00
The Odd WomenGeorge Gissing14h 33m$6 · $0.00
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen & Brontë Sisters (Annotated)Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë204h 15m$0.99 · $0.00
The Complete Works: Charlotte, Emily, Anne, Patrick & Branwell BrontëCharlotte Brontë, Anne Brontë, Emily Brontë138h 12m$1 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde (Annotated)Oscar Wilde126h 19m$2 · $0.00
L. M. Montgomery – Premium Collection: Novels, Short Stories, Poetry & MemoirsLucy Maud Montgomery155h 1m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of the Brontë Family Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë140h 13m$2 · $0.00
MARK TWAIN: 12 Novels, 195 Short Stories, Autobiography, 10 Travel Books, 160+ Essays & Speeches (Illustrated)Mark Twain415h 9m5.0 (2)$2 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m$18 · $0.00
The Complete Works: Novels, Short Stories, Plays, Articles, Essays, Travel Sketches and Memoirs (Annotated)Anthony Trollope1096h 4m$0.99 · $0.00
Ivanhoe (Annotated)Walter Scott22h 52m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of G. K. Chesterton (Annotated)G. K. Chesterton421h 37m$1.99 · $0.00
All NovelsGeorge Orwell53h 48m$10 · $0.00
The Complete Works of TolstoyLeo Tolstoy412h 44m$1 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Louisa May Alcott (Annotated)Louisa May Alcott226h 24m$0.99 · $0.00
Sherlock Holmes series - completeArthur Conan54h 8m$3.50 · $0.00
The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin2h 25m$15
The Count of Monte Cristo (With Original Illustrations)Alexandre Dumas54h$1 · $0.00
H. P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft50h 45m$2 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m$29 · $0.00
The Complete Novels of Charlotte Brontë (Annotated)Charlotte Brontë80h 44m$0.99 · $0.00
Searching For ThanksgivingS.E. Smith4h 24m$20
Naughty 4Brenda Hampton7h 30m$17
The Dance with Me TrilogyShelley Shepard Gray21h 44m$35
Anne Shirley (Complete 14 Book Collection)Lucy Maud Montgomery125h 28m$2 · $0.00
The DopemanJaQuavis Coleman5h 25m$20
Sherlock Holmes: The Ultimate CollectionArthur Conan Doyle59h 49m$5 · $0.00
Dark RisingJeffrey Wilson, Brian Andrews13h 47m$27
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.5 (24)$29 · $0.00
Grand Opening 2Carl Weber9h 16m$20
Sons of Valor II: Violence of ActionBrian Andrews, Jeffrey Wilson12h 34m$23
Malevolent MagicMildred Abbott7h 13m$17
Bikes, Toys, and Hot BoyzGenesis Woods, Shantaé13h 9m$23
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m$2 · $0.00
War LordBernard Cornwell13h 21m$33 · $0.00
Ghetto BastardK’wan7h 37m$20
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m$18 · $0.00
The Vineyard BrideKatie Winters5h 5m$15
The Fyodor Dostoyevsky Complete CollectionFyodor Dostoyevsky266h 5m5.0 (1)$200 · $0.00
Something Like LoveBeverly Jenkins10h 21m5.0 (1)$29 · $0.00
Anne Of Green Gables: Complete 8-Book Box SetL.M Montgomery74h 55m$1 · $0.00
You may also like
The Forsyte Saga - CompleteJohn Galsworthy35h 54m$2.30
The Odd WomenGeorge Gissing13h 54m$1 · $0.00
The Odd WomenGeorge Gissing15h 52m$2.30 · $0.00
Lemorne Versus HuellElizabeth Stoddard1h 26m$2 · $0.00
The Forsyte SagaJohn Galsworthy37h$2 · $0.00
The Wings of the DoveHenry James18h 54m$32
The Glimpses of the MoonEdith Wharton8h 56m$20
The Works of John GalsworthyJohn Galsworthy193h 11m$2.30
JUDE THE OBSCURE (British Classics Series)Thomas Hardy18h 10m$2 · $0.00
The Price She PaidDavid Graham Phillips6h 58m$2 · $0.00
The Harim and the Purdah: Studies of Oriental WomenElizabeth Cooper7h 54m$2 · $0.00
MiddlemarchGeorge Eliot34h 44m$3.50 · $0.00
The Moon out of ReachMargaret Pedler13h 6m$1.20 · $0.00
The AwakeningKate Chopin4h 52m$14
Memoirs of Emma CourtneyMary Hays8h 4m$2 · $0.00
The Myth in MarriageAlice Hubbard56m$1 · $0.00
The Woman Who DidGrant Allen4h 55m$2 · $0.00
Letters of Two BridesHonoré de Balzac8h 9m$2 · $0.00
Isabel Clarendon (Vol. 1&2) (Annotated)George Gissing14h 56m$0.99 · $0.00
After the StormT. S. Arthur7h 6m$2 · $0.00